Pixie Kitchen, Lincoln City OR 1970s

This menu for the now defunct Pixie Kitchen on the beautiful Central Oregon coast is still an absolute joy, its humor and imagination reminding us how entertaining menus used to be. Childhood sweethearts Jerry and Lu Parks bought the Pixie Kitchen in the charming community of Wecoma (later merged with other communities into Lincoln City) in 1952 and implemented a menu they had devised for their previous restaurant called the Crab Boiler. Famed local illustrator Mo Martindale was brought on board to design the menu and he certainly delivered – friendly and mischievous elves served as waiters and chefs and there were more delightful illustrations on the interior menu. The Parks and their staff served good, fresh food in a fun atmosphere and local families and passing tourists would form long lines and happily wait an hour or more for tables. To entertain them while they waited, a moving backyard amusement display was built showing the elves at work. In 1968, following the success of other amusement parks like Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm and Six Flags, the couple opened the Pixie Kitchen amusement park at a site nearby. It was a bold experiment, and more than 200,000 guests arrived during the first season. However, the short summer tourist season in Oregon, the economic slowdown across the US in the early 70s and the rise of environmentalism spearheaded by the US Forest Service which took over hundreds of acres of land, all conspired against the amusement park. In 1975, it closed for good. The Pixie Kitchen restaurant continued on but tastes in dining out and the arrival of the fast food chains took their toll and the restaurant closed in 1982. The Pixie Kitchen is still remembered fondly, however. The Kiwanis Club of Lincoln city runs a marvelous website honoring the iconic landmark, selling books, teeshirts and other Pixie Kitchen-related products, with the proceeds going to local good causes. See https://lincolncitykiwanis.org/ Gallery quality Giclée print on natural white, matte, 100% cotton rag, acid and lignin free archival paper using Epson archival inks. Custom printed with border for matting and framing. Each order includes a print of the interior menu. All printed in USA.